Tuesday Tip-Off: Sassparilla’s “The Darndest Thing”

The Darndest Thing finds Portland’s juggernaut of foot stomping blues-ragtime-country-punk Sassparilla moving in an entirely different direction. Whereas their previous releases have been the musical equivalent of a Saturday night throw down of drinking, fighting and fucking TDT sounds like the morning after – still drunk, but meditative and reflective. This isn’t to say that it’s any less engaging than their previous work, in fact the opposite is true. With a spacious production that compliments the slowed down moody vibe of these songs, you’re able to get deeper into the sound and the story of each one. Just as when 16 Horsepower shone a light on the underlying darkness of their sound on Secret South, The Darndest Thing might prove to be the Sassparilla album that people remember above all others in years to come. You can sample the album and order it here, and you can check out the first single “New Love” below.